Sunday, 9 March 2014

How Artist Make Money While Doing What They Love

1. Network with artists,
writers, and buyers

As uncomfortable as it may be for an artist
to leave the sanctity of the studio, nothing gets sold without interacting with
writers who will bring attention to the art, the 500 or so well-to-do people
who are interested in buying art, and the other artists who can give
introductions to their art world connections.

"When you're young, you talk to
everybody," contributing artist Ellen
Harvey told
Business Insider. "Your career gets its own momentum once you start
meeting people. Artists rely a lot on other artists and you can't overlook that
generosity. I think it's also important to buy other artists' work."

When times get tough, artists can sell the
work in their collections or trade on the goodwill of being an active
participant in the marketplace.

2. Pay attention to
your finances and make a budget

"Honestly, looking at my finances was
the best thing for me," contributing artist Erik Hanson told Business Insider.

"My goal has always been to have an art
career. When I got money and I was presented with the option of paying my rent
or going to Miami for Art Basel, I would go to Miami," he said. "I
got into some really scary financial situations because I thought I had to
sacrifice everything for the art. It forced me to soberly look at my money and
ask if I'm spending it the best I can."

"I've really tried to be more
responsible," Hanson said, "and get jobs that pay well."

He primarily makes money by selling his art
work, but also works odd jobs he thinks will fulfill his creative practice.
Over the summer, he got a job on Craigslist to work with antique carousels at a
carnival on Governors Island, south of Manhattan.

3. Plan ahead and
take internships that count

"If you wait to think about your career
until you first graduate, you're way behind," contributing
artist Tony Ingrisano told Business Insider.

"I interned with three galleries and got
a lot of experience with the behind-the-scenes work like art selling and
handling, even down to things that are good for the website and marketing. When
you're working for free [at an internship], you want to make sure you learn
something."

Ingrisano, the youngest contributor to
"Living and Sustaining a Creative Life," teaches drawing at
Briarcliff College in Long Island when he's not making massive ink drawings in
his own studio.

"People just assume that if you're in a
gallery, all that work is sold and you're living well, but that's not the case.
A lot of that art goes back to that person's studio. Having gallery
representation is not the answer to economic stability," he said.

4. Commit to working
as an artist

"I decided at a certain point that all
money had to be made in the studio," contributing artist Kate Shepherd told Business Insider. She
relies wholly on selling her artwork to make an income.

"I did art jobs on an as-needed basis
like copying paintings and doing portrait paintings. After a commercial piece,
I'd make a work for myself based on that commercial piece. Had I had a waitressing
or paralegal job, my hand wouldn't have been moving in the same constructive
way."

5. Open a gallery,
treat it like a business

Contributing artist Austin Thomas started investing in real
estate in Brooklyn, and a year and a half ago, she opened a gallery space in
Manhattan called Pocket Utopia.

"Owning your own business gives you the
most flexibility of all," Thomas told Business Insider. "You decide
when you're open and closed. I feel like I'm even more influential in the art
world because I sell other artists' works and try to make money for myself and
them. Some of the people [here for the book event] I've sold their work for the
highest price it's ever gotten."

6. Get used to
playing the real estate game

"I had to move my studio after so many
years there because Etsy started taking over in the heart of Dumbo," contributing
artist Jenny Marketou told Business Insider.

"Etsy is willing to pay twice the rent,
so I had to move," she said, "Luckily I travel so much that I could
move to a smaller space in the same building. Space is the biggest issue for an
artist based in New York City. In a few years I'll be completely out of Dumbo.
I still have to pay the rent for where I live."

Marketou has an apartment in the East
Village, and moving into a smaller studio actually lowered her overhead. She
works in a lot of different countries where her work has been commissioned for
biennials, after creating an international network of curators since she came
to the city for art school in the 1980s.

7. Only go into
teaching if you love it

"If you don't have a passion for
teaching," contributing artist Carson
Fox told
Business Insider, "absolutely don't go into it. The college level is
outrageously competitive."

"I was on a search committee for one
sculpture instructor position. We received 300 applications and 80% of the
people were right out of grad school. The people with little to no experience
like that just don't stand a chance."

Fox works as an associate professor of art
and art history at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y. She advised applying
for grants and residencies to diversify an artist's income outside of teaching.

8. Take advantage of
the down economy

"The art market crashed in 1986 along
with the economy," contributing artist Brian Tolle told Business Insider. "It wasn't a great time
to graduate, but the depressed economy meant the market was looking for cheap
talent, and young artists benefitted as a result. The expectations were so low
that it was easier to break in and when the economy started to recover, we were
already in place."

Now Tolle routinely manages to create work on
the budgets of public art work committees. He often gets a flat fee that has to
cover his time and expenses in generating these massive projects. Tolle has
three public works he will install this spring: one in Canada, one in Houston,
Tex., and one in Brooklyn.